De Smet, SD to Sioux Falls, SD

It is July 1 already!

The day started sunny with temperatures in the 70’s and only a light breeze. At first I drove with the windows open, but by 11:00 I wanted the air conditioner.  By the time we meet for lunch, the air conditioning at the Subway restaurant was wonderful. However by 3:00 the weather was changing! Again! The western sky was black with thunderstorms bearing down on us. By this time Cal had ridden 65 miles, so he loaded the bike and we drove south into Sioux Falls for the night. Cal rode until he was approximately 8 miles west of I-29, so we are in the very eastern part of South Dakota. 

Tomorrow we plan to finish South Dakota and then ride/drive through the very southwest corner of Minnesota.  We want to come into the northern part of Iowa, as it is flat. We will be staying north of the Loess Hills in western Iowa.  Cal had ridden enough Loess Hills on RAGBRAI rides.

I guess what really surprised us is how many marshes are in South Dakota – the way they farm around them and their preservation of them. The eastern part of the State also has a lot of lakes – you would think you are in Minnesota (10,000 lakes). The duck and pheasant population was also a surprise.  The farther south and east we came the better their agricultural crops look. The Northern Plains area of the United States definitely are not lacking in rainfall this year.

I only took one photo today – it continues to be marshes, hay fields, wheat, corn, soybeans - until we took a photo of the black clouds in the west.  

The Smell of Newly Mowed Hay - Familiar Sight in SE South Dakota

Afternoon Rain Storm - Brought Bicycling to an end for today